OUR "STOP THE HIKES" CAMPAIGN ON HUNTER COLLEGE CAMPUS

(Originally posted on 5/10/2016)  

 The lack of state funding in the higher public education of New York City  represents a financial threat for students and their or limited financial resources. We carried out a campaign to informed students, professors and staff about the decisions that were taken by the New York Legislators on the proposed funding cuts that the Governor Andrew Cuomo designed in the 2020 State Budget. We informed stakeholders that this issue was not completely resolved since tuition could be increased by the end of the next year. Also, we discussed that professors still need contracts and salary increments and the financial support that CUNY needs for maintenance and the expansion of academic programs was not fully granted.  

However, our campaign’s initial task was based on taking action to stop the tuition hikes that have been affecting students and their families for five consecutive years. The CUNY institution used to be free and its mission statement declares that “CUNY has a legislatively mandated mission to be of vital importance as a vehicle for the upward mobility of the disadvantaged in the City of New York... ensuring equal access and opportunity to students, faculty and staff from all ethnic and racial groups” (http://www.cuny.edu/about.html). With our campaign, we reminded students and professors about these facts and we also discussed that since the year 2000, the tuition cost of higher public education in New York increased $300 each year. Similarly, after the organized campaigns, rallies, marches and the public demonstration that students, professors and professional staff carried in New York and Albany during the first semester of the year 2016, the New York Assembly negotiated a tuition freeze for CUNY students on April 1st, 2016. But this break in the cycle of tuition hikes does not represent a permanent solution to the financial burden that have been affecting New Yorkers of the working class strata, immigrants and minority groups. Therefore, our CUNY funding group started a petition in which Hunter College students, professors and staff ask Governor Cuomo, the New York State Legislature and the Board of Trustees to "commit to a tuition freeze that would allow underprivileged students to access higher education in the years to come and to discuss how the city and the state will work together to make CUNY colleges continue to provide quality education while being cost efficient." This petition was a small contribution in comparison with other collective actions and events that we attended and that were organized by professional staff groups and unions. But we wanted to discuss this issue on campus, and complain about the state policies and speak about the backlash in the financial support of CUNY in the middle of the context of a daily routine of classes.

Therefore, our CUNY Funding campaign was carried out in the Hunter College campus on April 21st, 2016 from 3:00pm to 6:00pm on the third floor of Thomas Hunter and the North buildings. By carrying out our campaign out on the Hunter College campus, our message could reach people with shared values and similar grievances. Our campaign and the framing of our petition could be persuasive enough to encourage ‘free riders’ on campus into action.

"MARCH IN MARCH" RALLY ACROSS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

In March 13, 2016 CUNY students participated in a demonstration organized by Professional Staff CUNY and CUNY Rising Alliance that took place across the Brooklyn Bridge to fight against Governor Cuomo's proposed tuition hikes and $485 million budget cut to the City University of New York, and to support a fair contract for faculty and staff.

CUNY provides a high-quality education for a half -million New Yorkers per year. Even before the $485 million budget cut proposed in our Executive Budget, CUNY was being left behind. Tuition has gone up $300 per year, and the faculty and staff are going on six years without a raise.
For most of New Yorkers, CUNY offers the only opportunity for a college degree. Its students are 75% people of color and 43% immigrants. Over half of CUNY students have family incomes below $30,000 per year. Affordable college education should be possible for every New Yorker.

http://www.psc-cuny.org www.usscuny.org #SAVECUNY #DEFENDCUNY 

CUNY Rising Alliance list information:
United Students Against Sweatshops, Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, Strong Economy for All Coalition, Citizen Action of New York, Young Invincibles, Alliance for Quality Education, NYPIRG, CUNY University Student Senate, NY Working Families Party, NY Communities for Change, PSC/CUNY, DC 37, AFSCME, SFL-CO, Make The Road New York, Coalition for Educational Justice, Hispanic Federation, Urban Youth Collaborative,  Federation of Protest Welfare Agencies, Community Voices Heard, New York Immigration Coalition, American Federation of Teachers, NYC Central Labor Council, Balcony.

Photo Credit: Fabiana Grosso

RALLY AT THE GOVERNOR CUOMO'S OFFICE AND AT THE COMMUNITY CHURCH OF NEW YORK

In March 10th, 2016, the CUNY Rising Alliance and Professional Staff CUNY discussed the idea of a platform for change. The debate was about economic and racial inequality, which has focused increasingly on the question of access to and quality of public higher education. The future of the City University of New York must be part of that debate.

New York State needs to fully fund CUNY by increasing public investment and also modernize the state tuition assistance program to meet the needs of the 21st century student. The CUNY board of Trustees needs to freeze tuition at the current 2015-2016 status in order to provide more time to find a solution that is best for all CUNY community members.

  

 

http://www.psc-cuny.org www.usscuny.org #SAVECUNY #DEFENDCUNY

CUNY Rising Alliance list information:
United Students Against Sweatshops, Greater New YorkLabor-Religion Coalition, Strong Economy for All Coalition, Citizen Action of New York, Young Invincibles, Alliance for Quality Education, NYPIRG, CUNY University Student Senate, NY Working Families Party, NY Communities for Change, PSC/CUNY, DC 37, AFSCME, SFL-CO, Make The Road New York, Coalition for Educational Justice, Hispanic Federation, Urban Youth Collaborative,  Federation of Protest Welfare Agencies, Community Voices Heard, New York Immigration Coalition, AmericanFederation of Teachers, NYC Central Labor Council, Balcony.

Photo Credit: Fabiana Grosso

STATE LEGISLATORS RESPONSES TO PETITION

CUNY

DG

Deborah Glick <glickd@assembly.state.ny.us>

|

4/15/2016

Deborah Glick <glickd@assembly.state.ny.us> 

DEBORAH J. GLICK Assemblymember 66TH  District New York County

THE ASSEMBLY STATE OF NEW YORK ALBANY

CHAIR Higher Education Committee Intern Committee COMMITTEES Governmental Operations Environmental Conservation Rules Ways & Means

April 15, 2016

Thank you for contacting me with you heartfelt letter in support of funding for CUNY.  As a CUNY graduate myself, I was thoroughly surprised by the Governor’s budget which shifted state costs of CUNY of nearly $500 million on to New York City.  Although the Governor stepped back from that decision rather early, he continues to shortchange funding of both public higher education systems. 

We were able to provide an increase of $100 per FTE for CUNY community colleges; restoration of child care funds; restoration of $2.5 million for ASAP; and a 20% increase in funding for opportunity programs.

Unfortunately, we were not able to secure funds for capital expansion but we did increase funds for critical maintenance of facilities.  These are much needed since the Governor hasn’t provided capital funds for the last two years.

After 5 years of $300 year tuition increases the Legislature felt that New York families need a break from constantly rising college costs.  We froze tuition for one year and expect to continue the discussion regarding how college is paid for.

Finally, we have been promised that collective bargaining costs will be addressed through both city and state funds when the latest contract is settled.

I know this is not all of what CUNY faculty and students wanted or needed.  This is how negotiations play out when one partner holds a disproportionate authority over the budget.  I will continue to fight for CUNY and I ask you to continue your advocacy on these funding issues. It really made a difference in stopping the cost shift from state funding to city funding.

Sincerely,

Deborah J. Glick

Assemblymember

DJG:ts

▫ DISTRICT OFFICE – 853 Broadway, Suite 2007, New York, New York 10003-4703 Ÿ (212) 674-5153, FAX (212) 674-5530

▫ ALBANY OFFICE – Room 717, Legislative Office Building, Albany, New York 12248 Ÿ (518) 455-4841, FAX (518) 455-4649

glickd@assembly.state.ny.us

Please restore public higher education funding at CUNY
Daniel O'Donnell <odonnelld@assembly.state.ny.us>
3/7/2016

Thank you for contacting my office to make me aware of your position on State funding for the City University of New York. When developing legislative priorities, I look toward messages from constituents for vital input and direction, and I greatly appreciate that you made the effort to share your views.
I recognize that CUNY is a major research university and I agree that it
is a vital resource for the entire state. In fact, CUNY was established by the New York State Legislature as "an independent system of higher education," that must be "responsive to the needs of its urban setting" and operate as "an integrated system." Since its establishment, CUNY has become one of the largest university systems in the country with enrollment that exceeds 550,000 students and 45,000 employees. Additionally, nearly 85% of CUNY graduates continue to live and pay taxes in New York. Clearly, CUNY is a vital resource for our society and economy.

As a CUNY Law graduate myself, I believe in advocating for as much funding for higher public education as possible, in the form of higher salaries
for professors, higher per-student base aid, and more funding for capital improvements. I have written a letter to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie requesting that full funding for CUNY be restored in New York State's budget, and will continue to monitor developments as the budget process in Albany continues.
Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office regarding this or any issue that concerns you. I hope, too, that
you will follow my work in the New York State Assembly on my Assembly webpage (assembly.state.ny.us), on Twitter (twitter.com/dannyodonnellny), and on Facebook (facebook.com/danieljodonnellny). I look forward to hearing from you again.
Very truly yours,
Daniel O'Donnell

Toby Ann Stavisky
Toby Ann Stavisky <stavisky@nysenate.gov>
3/25/2016

Thank you for contacting my office, your views are important to me. This message has been sent automatically to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail. Each e-mail message that is received at this address is read by me or a member of my staff.
E-mail is an effective way of conveying your beliefs about legislative matters or community issues, but I ask that you include your full name, address and telephone number in your message. My staff cannot properly evaluate or follow up on your message without this information.
If you need immediate assistance with a particular question or problem and you live in New York Senate District 16, please call, write or send a fax
to my district office: 142-29 37th Avenue, Flushing 11354, Phone: (718) 445- 0004 Fax: (718) 445-8398
To find out if you live in District 16, the NY Senate has a useful database look-up feature at
http://www.nysenate.gov/senators
If you are writing to request a meeting with me in Albany when the Senate is in Session, please send a detailed e-mail to dyer@nysenate.gov. For all other scheduling requests, please send a detailed e-mail to ramirez@nysenate.gov.
A pdf of the NYS 2014 Senate Session calendar can be downloaded at http://www.nysenate.gov/calendar/session
For more information please visit www.stavisky.nysenate.gov. If you wish to know more about the New York State Senate or the legislative process, you can find valuable information at www.senate.state.ny.us.

Once again, thank you for contacting my office and for your interest in the governmental process.
Sincerely yours,
TOBY ANN STAVISKY State Senator District 16 

Andrew Hevesi <hevesia@assembly.state.ny.us>

4/26/2016

Thank you for your email regarding additional funding for City University of New York (CUNY). I apologize for the delayed response.
To begin, my colleagues and I refused to pass a budget that contained the Governor's punitive and unnecessary proposal to shift $485 million of CUNY operating expenses to New York City. We fought him daily on this issue,
even threatening to walk away from budget negotiations and an on-time budget if he didn't back off. He did, and we stopped that ridiculous proposal.
With regard to the other myriad issues related to CUNY, I wholeheartedly agree with you that in order for CUNY to function and serve its students at optimum level, it needs appropriate funding from the State.
This year, my colleagues and I in the Assembly voted to increase funding for multiple programs. The FY2016-2017 final enacted state budget allocated an increase of $12 million in operating funds for CUNY. The budget includes $6.2 million in support for CUNY community colleges for an increase of $100 per full-time equivalent (FTE) student to $2,697 per FTE student. $2.5 million was dispersed for CUNY's Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), which provides motivated community college students with the comprehensive support they need to earn their degree(s) as quickly as possible.
To ensure CUNY students, faculty, staff and the community have continued access to quality, affordable child care options, the final budget restored $902,000 in funding to CUNY child care centers.
I recognize that a number of issues, including new faculty contracts, maintenance of effort and the dream act were not part of the final budget. However, I substantively agree with you on most of those issues and will continue to work toward achieving the results that CUNY, its students and faculty deserve.
Thank you again for writing regarding funding for CUNY. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact either myself for

my Deputy Chief of Staff, Kevin Wisniewski, at (718) 263-5595. Sincerely,
Andrew Hevesi
28th Assembly District 

Catharine M. Young
Catharine Young <cyoung@nysenate.gov>
3/25/2016

Thank you for emailing me, and I truly appreciate hearing from you. Your comments and suggestions are very important to me and an integral part of the legislative process. I take a great deal of care in reading each and

every email on a daily basis. I receive hundreds of emails every week and will respond in writing as quickly as possible. If you have not included
your phone number and postal address in your email, please resend your original correspondence with this information.
If you would like to be kept up to date on issues facing the New York State Senate, please log on to my websites, young.nysenate.gov for news, interactive polls, and legislative initiatives.
Again, thank you for your email.
Cathy Young Member of Senate 

PETITION TO STATE REPRESENTATIVES TO SUPPORT CUNY

CUNY students want to persuade legislators to vote against the CUNY cuts and to encourage Governor Cuomo to allow CUNY to accomplish its educational mission. This public institution could be the only chance that many New York City residents have to achieve a job certificate or a degree. In contemporary society, the middle class is disappearing, and the gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger. The lack of higher education determines that individuals would make minimum wages or would not be able to sell their labor power at all in the labor market. Our tactics to spread this message would be sending letters to the legislators asking to restore the funding for higher public education, to increase salaries for professors,higher per student based aid and more funding for college's improvements. We would sign petitions to save CUNY from starvation, unite efforts and mobilize with other students and professional staff, unions and constituents to defend CUNY and to demand quality and affordable public higher education in New York city. We are asking our legislators and senators to support public higher education and to reject the proposed budget cuts implemented by the Governor Cuomo.

Feb 14, 2016
Dear State Representative,
I understand the daunting fiscal challenges New York State is facing. However, an investment in public higher education is the best protection for the economic future of New York State. Investment in CUNY will maintain high quality and accessible educational opportunities for hundreds of thousands of families.
As a graduate of The City University of New York, I am concerned that
the proposed budget does not provide adequate funding for CUNY. A ten percent cut to the University's operating aid will have a detrimental effect on CUNY student support services and on the
availability of full-time faculty to teach in the classroom. CUNY is experiencing increasing enrollments as more people seek alternatives to unemployment and need access to career opportunities. We must maintain an affordable and quality education at our public higher education institutions.
CUNY alumni are valuable assets to New York State. Ten years after graduation, 80 percent of CUNY alumni continue to reside and work in New York State, enrich the local tax base and fuel the region's economy. They repay the investment made in their education through taxes paid over many years. Please help maintain the investment in CUNY so necessary to the public workforce.

Thank you for supporting public higher education at CUNY.

This message has been sent to the following decision makers:

•   State Representative Herman 'Denny' D. Farrell Jr.
  
•   State Representative Jeffrion L. Aubry 
•   State Senator John A. DeFrancisco 
•   State Senator Liz Krueger 

•   State Representative Kimberly Jean-Pierre
  
•   State Representative Matthew 'Matt' J. Titone
  
•   State Representative William Colton
  
•   State Senator Kenneth 'Ken' P. LaValle
  
•   State Representative Bob Oaks
  
•   State Representative Carl E. Heastie
  
•   State Senator Catharine 'Cathy' M. Young
  
•   State Senator John J. Flanagan Jr.
  
•   State Representative Earlene Hooper
  
•   State Representative Brian M. Kolb
  
•   State Senator Jeffrey 'Jeff' D. Klein
  
•   State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins
  
•   State Representative Amy R. Paulin
  
•   State Senator Jose R. Peralta
  
•   State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky
  
•   State Representative Francisco P. Moya
  
•   State Representative Deborah J. Glick
  
•   State Representative Andrew D. Hevesi
  
•   State Senator Joseph 'Joe' P. Addabbo Jr.
  

WE WANT AFFORDABLE AND QUALITY HIGHER PUBLIC EDUCATION

On April 1st, Governor Cuomo would decide for a budget cut that CUNY desperately needs to avoid. Many programs that provide additional resources for students, minorities and underrepresented groups could be implemented while the board of trustees higher incomes would continue increasing. The CUNY 2020 plan was supposed to end this year after five straight years, but Governor Cuomo has authorized CUNY officials to raise costs yet again in his proposed budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal years. CUNY will continue to raise the tuition $300 every year, even though there are no financial incentives being provided by the state. The weight will actually fall on taxpayers instead, a weight that is almost a third of the actual budget!

CUNY is one of the main providers of public education in NYC, and its main attraction is its ability to work with federal and state funding in order to provide affordable education to multiple levels of socio-economic status. Cutting 30% of funding will raise tuition, alter financial aid qualifications, decrease quality of education (bigger classes, less professors), and another year of severely underpaid faculty members.

CUNY has a renowned trajectory producing professionals of the first level and driven
individuals that contribute to the city they live in. Students are registering and applying at an exponential rate, and CUNY would need a great contribution from the state in order to facilitate the upcoming applicants and to successfully develop a plan of action to properly compensate faculty members (tenure and adjunct). This is especially important because we have an opportunity to help fight for funding in a system that may potentially educate our children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren as well. CUNY has stepped up and continued forging forward during turbulent political and social times, and taking a look at its history has allowed us to see how others have fought for CUNY by going against those that are keeping it from what it could be.
The City University of New York (CUNY) began as a Free Academy founded in 1847. During first ceremony of the Free Academy, the president claimed this mission statement: “The experiment is to be tried whether the highest education can be given to the masses; whether the children of the people, the children of the whole people, can be educated; and whether an institution of learning of the highest grade can be successfully controlled by the popular will, not by the privileged few, but by the privileged many.” The CUNY institution has been committed to provide students with valuable education and advocating for upward mobility since its inception. For the first time, women, veterans, African Americans and Latinos had some tangible opportunities to access job training and certificates, opportunities to accomplish their associate/bachelor/master degrees, and to pursue the career paths that would help transform their lives. Those students overcame many economic, social and cultural hardships in order to attend college, yet they succeeded in graduating from CUNY because it offered free higher education. One of the most salient features of CUNY was that after graduation its alumni would increase their annual income, access better jobs, housing and medical care. The state implemented CUNY as a tool to support minorities so they could improve their lives (McGuire Esq., 1992).

As time passed, the CUNY system grew and it became more lenient to capital gain because of the abundance of students who decided to join the academic community. This is where issues become interesting, because CUNY begins to operate under capitalist agendas somewhat contradictory of the first official statement from CUNY, back when it was free. City College was the first established institution of CUNY, following Hunter, Brooklyn, Queens, Kingsborough, and so on. The Free Academy program, which was intended to serve "the children of the whole people" wasn't actually providing access to the Universities to everyone. One of the requirements was a High School diploma for the free admission, and of course many minorities were not offered the right resources in High School to complete and move on to the higher education. Offering information to such resources, especially free resources, wasn't actually given, rather secretly dispersed. Considering that higher education is part of class mobility, of course communities of lower class fought for their rights to become educated (McGuire Esq., 1992).
Student activism has always been a part of CUNY, before and after Free Admission. During the 1930's and 40's, the CUNY system held as a hub for socialist and communist interest. Interestingly enough, Open Admissions was offered post-Civil Rights and liberation struggles. It wasn't given out of the kindness of CUNY's heart, but from the fear of radical movements becoming more radical, and causing rapid change to the system. Intense struggle emerged in which large numbers of students were drawn into action and became a force to be reckoned with (Traub, James, 1994).
Indeed, the people who were and continue to be responsible as to how programs, budgets, and jobs are implemented are the Governor, the Mayor, the State Legislature, the City Council, and the Board of Trustees. In recent years, this responsibility has leaned towards the Board of Trustees (who decide how much they get paid, and how many budget cuts are taken). The "Fiscal Crisis" which began in 1975, was the reasoning used for bringing back tuition, and obviously resulting in changes of the Open Admission policy.
From 1989-to-1991, there was CUNY-wide strikes against the proposed tuition hikes and budget cuts. Protest continued in 1995, against tuition increases and budget cuts, which eliminated remedial classes in Senior Colleges, and eliminating Open Admissions. These conflicts brought up a wave of Leftist student activism, especially in the 1960's. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) were one of the major leftist organization's originating in CUNY.

The first chapter was established at Brooklyn College in 1960. The SDS organized nationwide actions against the provision of class rankings to the selective service system. CUNY students participated in all the national and city-wide protests against the Vietnam War, and draft cards, but not all CUNY-students participated in protest against the war (Sale, Kirkpatrick, 1973).
Another great example of student activism are the Black and Puerto Rican students, whom after much time and protest for equal opportunities in education and resources, were able to help create a studies department of their own. The Black and Puerto Rican Studies Department was eventually implemented, due through the constant protest and civil engagement of different communities in the city. The imagined thought of obtaining gains through struggle, has been motioned by oppressed people everywhere. Domestic and international events fed on each other, and were spoken through activism in the CUNY community. This raised the general level of political consciousness and willingness to engage in struggle on the side of oppressed people. The Young Lords and Black Panther Party helped organized militant forces to cause urban rebellions. What college students couldn't cover with sit-ins and freedom rides, radical groups like the Young Lords were able to accomplish physical action. Both played a role to activate change (Dyer, Conrad M., 1990).
Nowadays, students are being challenged to organized since the CUNY budget is being revised by the New York State Assembly and the Governor Cuomo has proposed some cuts to its funding; Therefore, we want to express our discontent and take immediate action on this issue. By cutting the financial support to public education, the state is turning its back to some sectors of society which need financial assistance and encouragement to continue towards higher education. This issue concerns all New Yorkers because the future of the city and its constituents would be impacted by the decisions on public education. We believe that people should have equal opportunity of intellectual development no matter their socioeconomic status. Therefore, we want to spread the word and raise consciousness among our peers, professors, families, and friends and in our communities because our goal is to ensure that we and future generations would access quality and affordable public education. It is imperative for our city to integrate immigrants, minority groups and underrepresented communities into mainstream society. 

Excerpt from Project Paper Two, CUNYFunding Group. Authors: Alile Copper, Axel Owen, George Trivino, Fabiana Grosso, Mario Lozano.

Photo Credit: Fabiana Grosso

THE MISSION AND HISTORY OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

http://www2.cuny.edu/about/history/

The mission of The City University of New York, embodied in state education law, Article 125, Section 6201,  as the finding and intent of the New York State Legislature, states in part:

“The Legislature intends that The City University of New York should be maintained as an independent system of higher education governed by its own Board of Trustees responsible for the governance, maintenance and development of both senior and community college units of The City University.

“The University must remain responsive to the needs of its urban setting and maintain its close articulation between senior and community college units. Where possible, governance and operation of senior and community colleges should be jointly conducted or conducted by similar procedures to maintain the University as an integrated system and to facilitate articulation between units.

“The Legislature’s intent is that The City University be supported as an independent and integrated system of higher education on the assumption that the University will continue to maintain and expand its commitment to academic excellence and to the provision of equal access and opportunity for students, faculty and staff from all ethnic and racial groups and from both sexes. The City University is of vital importance as a vehicle for the upward mobility of the disadvantaged in the City of New York. The pioneering efforts of the SEEK and College Discovery programs must not be diminished as a result of greater state financial responsibility. Read Less

“Only the strongest commitment to the special needs of an urban constituency justifies the Legislature’s support of an independent and unique structure for the University. Activities at the City University campuses must be undertaken in a spirit which recognizes and responds to the imperative need for affirmative action and the positive desire to have City University personnel reflect the diverse communities which comprise the people of the city and state of New York …”

For the complete Legislative intent, click here

HISTORY

 

Thomas Hunter with the Normal College Class of 1888. Later renamed Hunter College, it was the first institution to offer free public higher education for women in New York City.

Boasting world-class academics, award-winning faculty and both new and enhanced campuses, today’s City University of New York is attracting students who win National Science Foundation fellowships and Rhodes Scholarships, keeping a nearly 170-year-old commitment to educational excellence and opportunity.

Our mission dates to 1847 when founder Townsend Harris, an early champion of public education and a pioneering diplomat who was the first U.S. ambassador to Japan, called upon New York City to create a public academy of higher learning to “educate the whole people.”

An inaugural class of 143 academically qualified young men was soon assembled. The fledgling school quickly grew in reputation and enrollment and, as a new century approached, plans were approved for an expansive neo-Gothic campus uptown that became the College of the City
of New York.

Twenty years after the first students entered the academy, second school for the education of teachers, the Female Normal and High School – later renamed Hunter College in honor of its founder, Thomas Hunter – offered the same higher education opportunities to women.

Fueled by an immigration boom in the early 20th century, City College and Hunter expanded to include evening sessions in Brooklyn and Queens. In 1926, the state Legislature established a Board of Higher Education to oversee the growing municipal college system and expand public access in the city’s outer boroughs. Over the next decade, Brooklyn College and Queens College were founded and Hunter established a Bronx campus, which decades later would become Lehman College.

Despite the city’s limited resources, demand for public higher education continued to grow during the Great Depression. The colleges created night divisions that charged affordable tuition while offering students the opportunity to work toward their degrees or raise their grades to the levels required to enter the colleges’ free baccalaureate programs. In the ensuing post- World War II years, another dramatic enrollment boom led to the creation of several community colleges, including one on Staten Island. In 1961, the state Legislature formally established The City University
of New York, uniting what by then had become seven municipal colleges
into a formally integrated system and authorizing the new University to offer doctoral programs. Today, the senior colleges have selective admission requirements. Community colleges continue to serve as portals to opportunity for applicants with a high school or GED diploma.

Since 2000, billions of dollars have been invested to rebuild, enhance and expand the University’s 24 campuses. The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, CUNY School of Public Health, Macaulay Honors College and the innovative Guttman Community College are among the colleges and graduate schools recently established. This greatly expanded University, serving record enrollments, offers tuition-free education to seven in 10 full-time undergraduates thanks to federal, state and CUNY financial aid. In contrast to the crushing debt other students typically carry at many public and private institutions, 80 percent of our students who earn an undergraduate degree graduate with no student debt.

The University’s 21st-century mission remains true to its founding principles of academic excellence, scholarship and opportunity for all. CUNY boasts 13 Nobel laureates and the tradition of high academic achievement continues as our students win prestigious scholarships. In recent years, the University has produced 70 Fulbright scholars, 70 National Science Foundation fellows, 10 Truman scholars and seven Rhodes scholars.

With a flourishing reputation among students and educators alike, CUNY is defining value by providing the opportunity of a lifetime: a high-quality, competitive and remarkably affordable college education. It’s an education that delivers in the marketplace, producing job-ready graduates with respected academic credentials.

It’s a 21st-century education, taught by top scholars on upgraded campuses that is transforming the student experience, bringing jobs to New York and stimulating economic development.

That’s why more high-achieving students, and more students of all backgrounds and abilities, are choosing to study in vibrant New York City at The City University of New York.